SOUTH BEND, Ind. – The Notre Dame Fighting Irish (9-7, 2-5) fell to NC State (10-5, 5-2) in three sets (18-25, 21-25, 16-25) at Purcell Pavilion on Friday evening. Morgan Gaerte finished with a team-best 13 kills.
The Wolfpack posted an early 11-5 lead over the Irish until Notre Dame responded with a 6-0 run, which included three service aces from Sydney Palazzolo. NC State extended their lead to five at 20-15, forcing an Irish timeout, before going on to take set one 25-18.
Trailing 6-2 to start the second, a Lucy Trump ace capped off a 5-0 run from Notre Dame to give the Irish the lead at 7-6. Tied at 14-all, NC State began to pull away as the Irish called a timeout at 22-16. The Irish were able to close the gap, but the Wolfpack would go on to take set two 25-21.
It was a close set through the beginning of the third with five ties up to the media timeout. The Irish only trailed by three (15-12) coming out of the media, but the Wolfpack would carry their momentum through the rest of the third to secure the match with a 25-16 set three win.
The Irish are back in action on Sunday, Oct. 20 as they host Wake Forest at 1 PM at Purcell Pavilion.